Leading teams tread carefully

Leading teams East Coast and Masterton Red Star will be treading warily when Wairarapa-Bush premier division rugby matches continue tomorrow.
The form book says East Coast should account for Pioneer at the Park Sportsground and likewise Masterton Red Star for Gladstone just up the road at Memorial Park but, at the same time, it would be dangerous for them to take anything for granted.
Pioneer are a side who won't mind if the Coasters look to play their normal free-flowing style of play. In fact, they will probably relish the thought of a match where the ball is given plenty of air as they are invariably at their best when the game loosens up and forwards like Nathan Rolls, Lee Ewe, Isaac Rolls and Ihe Namana can demonstrate their attacking skills.
It will be interesting therefore to see whether the Coasters adopt a more conservative tactical approach than normal on this occasion with the idea of sapping the energy of the Pioneer ball runners by regularly involving them in set piece play. East Coast do have a solid scrum and lineout and gaining dominance there might well be their prime objective. An impressive member of their tight five is young prop Ben Pereira, son of coach John Pereira, and he will be wanting another big effort to cement a spot in the Wairarapa-Bush squad.
Gladstone have been disappointing by their usual standards to date this season but that comfortable win over Puketoi last weekend would have done their confidence the world of good and they will undoubtedly be targeting Masterton Red Star as a team they can beat.
It is up front where Gladstone will fancy their chances of calling the tune They will have noted the towelling the Masterton Red Star pack took from their Eketahuna counterparts in the tighter aspects of the forward game last weekend and will be keen for hardy front rowers Kurt Simmonds and Richard Puddy to take charge there as well.
In young first-five Jason Kjestrup Gladstone have a player who is being touted as a possible "dark horse" for Wairarapa-Bush selection and his main job tomorrow will be to implement his tactical kicking accurately enough to keep his forwards on the front foot.
Masterton Red Star have had a wonderful comeback season already with just the one loss in six matches and their strike rate is a tribute to the coaching abilities of the Corie and Ivan Karaitiana. They will know that if they can break even in the forward exchanges the attacking skills of backs like Jordan Watene and Heemi Tupaea both of whom played for Gladstone last year will very probably get them the desired result.
Martinborough continue to make good progress and their battle with Carterton at Martinborough should be a close one, something akin to their current positions on the points table where Carterton lies third with 19pts and Martinborough fourth on 18pts. On paper the expectation would be that Carterton should have the edge in the forwards with Martinborough having more flair in the outside backs.
Greytown and Puketoi are at the bottom of the points table but that should not detract from their clash at Pongaroa. Greytown will be eyeing this game as a chance to pick up the maximum five points to put them back in the hunt for a semi-final spot later in the season while Puketoi will be out to break their "duck" for 2009. The pace of the Greytown backs could be the deciding factor but Puketoi won't mind if the weather turns sour and it becomes a slog between the two packs.
Eketahuna were a mixed bag in their narrow, and somewhat unlucky, loss to Masterton Red Star last weekend. Their forwards gained a dominance which would normally provide a win but their backs were, in a word, dreadful. That makes their game with Marist at Eketahuna something of a puzzle for Marist have enough attacking potential in their rearguard to punish the home side providing, of course, they can attain a reasonable share of possession. The odds favour Eketahuna keeping it tight and doing just enough to sneak a victory but a smart punter would keep his money in his pocket on this one.